Uncommon Business is a blog about people who make money online selling unusual, strange and sometimes bizarre things or provide curious services. This isn’t “One Hundred And One Ideas For Your Homebased Business” – only real, working businesses with URLs provided, so you can do further investigation on your own. And if you do own an unusual web business, make sure you submit your story to us. SHLD

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

JustBecause Is One Hot App This Holiday Season

If you’re an entrepreneur, when launching a startup, one of the early challenges involved are getting the word out about your product or service, letting your target consumer know of the benefits that come with it and getting people to try it out – all in the name of converting them into lifetime customers.

On the other hand, if you’re somebody thinking of sending a gift to someone special, one hurdle you need to clear is figuring out what this trendy friend of yours would be thrilled to receive. And this means ensuring the gift isn’t something he/she already received from someone else, which, needless to say, can sometimes be a tough one to pull off.

JustBecause, a newly launched iPhone app, bridges the gap between the two. With JustBecause, users can now offer their friends gifts from startups worth $10 to $100 for just $1. Yes, you read right – for just $1!

Why? Well, startups are more than glad to dole out freebies here and there (in the hopes of turning a first-time user into a permanent consumer, what else?), and simply charge the expense against their customer acquisition funds. And because the gifts are from startups, as a consumer, you can rest assured that these products or services are stuff most people haven’t tried yet.

According to Matt Hartman, co-founder of JustBecause, the app was spun from his first startup, ReferBoost, an apartment referral social lead generator. To encourage apartment residents to write reviews and post about the buildings they lived on, they gave out gift cards, usually from Starbucks.

Meanwhile, Uber, one of the startups currently in JustBecause’s lineup, was trying to acquire customers in Chicago. This, then, prompted Hartman to talk to Uber. Uber thought the idea was interesting and provided him with some cards. The limiting factor though was the number of buildings Hartman had on his system. This, in turn, led to the idea that is now JustBecause.

JustBecause requires a Facebook login. Gift codes provided only work for first-time users, and for the gifts to be shared, the sender posts to a friend’s wall. SMS sharing is something that might come into play in the future.

Based in Chicago, JustBecause is, at the moment, working hard to expand its current startup roster. To download the app, visit their website at www.justbecauseapp.com.